NOTE: I've always chosen to write about any holidays, trips or experiences based on the gists of the main ideas that I want to convey, and hardly would I take the trouble to write in the form of literal documentary-style accounts. But the purpose of this post is to give some publicity to Glo (Gospel Literature Outreach)'s training school in Taiping, so I tried to be as informative as possible in providing an introduction to those who have not heard of Glo or have absolutely no clues regarding what it is all about, like me. In case you're confused by my mix-up of past and present tenses, I purposely used a lot of present tenses in the descriptions, in order to avoid sounding like a diary entry. Finally, if you're used to my usual short, nondescript posts, then chances are you would label this as 'boring'. So there, read at your own discretion :)To say that the Residential Bible School in Cameron Highlands, or more popularly known for its endearing acronym
RBS is interesting would be an understatement in many ways. I honestly believe that RBS holds a permanent special place in the hearts of most, if not all the students who signed up for it, be it for the quirky friends made, the insurmountable challenges waded, or the surprising emotional breaches.
But what I didn't realize was that RBS wasn't the only avenue available to pursue spiritual growth. It's a great avenue, no doubt, but there are other options that I never thought of exploring before. One such option, which I faintly remember hearing about before, is the Glo school (there's something about three-letter acronyms...). Located in Taiping, an idyllic town about 2 and a half hour's drive from Subang, the Glo school in Taiping is basically RBS without the cold air, and also the time limitation. Classes take place the whole year round I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), and the different modules usually last a week, or maybe two sometimes.
The way the modules are conducted is through various speakers invited from all around the country, or from other countries even. It just so happened that one of the elders of my church was invited to teach for last week, and he invited me to come along and see for myself what Glo was all about. Together with Crissy, a fellow bummer at the moment, we set off for 5 days of 'studying' in Taiping.
Arriving there, the Glo 'school' is actually a church compound located next to a government school, and in the same compound there is a tadika called Tadika Marks. So yes, in the mornings there would be the principal's blabbering about discipline booming over the school's speakers AND chirpy kindergarten songs playing together at the same time. But it's a pretty spacious place, with a nice spot just for swings. For the children I guess. And for you to sit down and chat.
But the aural entertainment aside, the living quarters for students basically looks like this:
It's a wooden bungalow in the style of traditional malay houses, and it has four separate rooms for the guys and gals. Not bad actually; plus there's always that rustic charm about wooden abodes.
Mornings begin with personal devotion, and then group sharing of individual devotional insights and thoughts. After breakfast, classes would then commence. The classes are conducted in the church building's top room near the roof...or attic, I believe that's what it's called. Fairly comfortable setting, with the usual flip-table chairs and cozy air-conditioning. There's classes until lunch time, and depending on the teacher/lecturer, afternoon slots and night slots are available for additional classes as well. Otherwise, it would be free time to work on assignments.
Now I feel that special mention should be given to the unusually rabid mosquitoes that seem to have taken control of Taiping. I find them uncannily similar to thugs who would go the extra mile to harass you for protection money. In this case, they're trained specifically to rob you of your sleep. I didn't know better, so on the first night I just hit the bunks a la carte. Since I was the only one in the room (there were no other temporary male students last week), I chose a luxurious wall-side lower bunk (all the beds are double-decker). Washed my face, brushed my teeth, yada-yada and then I dived into the blanket to catch some Zs.
Only thing is, I never caught any.
The thing is, sometimes when even one stray mosquito slips into my room, I usually end up with very little sleep. On the first night in Taiping however, I killed at least 9 of them. 9!!!! And still the buzzing-in-the-ear didn't stop. By my calculations, the total of numbers of sleep I had on the first night was probably around -4 hours...PLEASE ask about what you should do before sleeping, if you're planning to attend Glo for whatever reason.
The gripes about mosquitoes aside, I feel that Glo has something very different to offer, in terms of spiritual training, and buffing up your biblical knowledge. Comparing it with RBS (the only yardstick I can think of at the moment), Glo is....a different thing altogether. Whereas RBS is confined to specific times of the year, Glo simply goes on week after week and there is plenty of room for you to decide if you just want to check out a particular module or put on the headband of determination and sign up for a full year there.
Glo also doesn't enforce no-electronic-device rules, and you can bring laptops even. You have full responsibility for how you wish to make use of your gadgets. I guess you're treated more as an independent 'adult' compared to RBS. From conversations with the others who had been there before (and now comes back to Glo regularly as a sort of retreat), there's certainly no shortage of practical exercises and responsibilities to take up, from chairing the weekly Prayer Meetings, to helping out with the kindergarten's Chapel Service. And you need to know your Scriptures well, if you are to keep up with the more in-depth classes.
Though my trip there was cut short due to a sudden turn of events, Glo was truly and honestly eventful and meaningful to me. The company alone was already half the fun, and I was pretty thankful for the seemingly chance encounter. To be honest, it all seems like a lot of hard work, but I personally think that Glo presents a strikingly unique opportunity to take your faith seriously, and take it further.
A handy brochure that tells you more about Glo can be found at http://www.thelifechapel.org/media/GLO%20Leaflet%2009_final.pdf
